It's a fine line
by Wooden Roses
Summary: Gray's been gone for far too long and Natsu's getting antsy. When his rival suddenly arrives but falls to the floor unconscious, Natsu will have to accept a rather ironic side effect of Dragon slayer magic.
1. Prologue

Hey all :D i don't own fairy tail :) enjoy!

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Prologue

Boring. The only way to describe the moment. The guild was practically empty except for me and a few sparse members sitting around and talking. Lucy was on a mission by herself for a change. She said she wanted to try one on her own so she could get all the reward money. I still didn't see the problem of breaking down a few houses as long as the job got done. Requests never say anything about not being allowed to wreck a house or two.

I humphed to myself and continued to stare at one of the wooden pillars holding the guild up. I let my mind wander and twist the different shades of brown into shapes. I was just that bored.

The ice block wasn't even here to argue with. He'd never admit it out loud, I started worrying after day four. Despite the fact that we always fought and insulted each other, we were really good friends. Fighting was just the way we showed we cared about each other.

I sat in silence until I felt a presence appear beside me. I sniffed the air cautiously, hoping it was Gray and I'd just been to out of it to hear him come through the door, but my hopes fell when the only scent to reach my nose was metal.

Gajeel sat on the stool next to me at the bar and followed my line of sight.

"Why are you staring at a block of wood flame head? Planning on setting it alight?" he asked gruffly.

I sighed, "No."

Gajeel scoffed and signaled to Mira who was on the other end of the bar. "Then why do you look like the worlds about to end?" I didn't reply and Gajeel didn't speak until he dropped a small screw in the drink Mira gave him.

"Worried about the ice princess?"

I stiffened but relaxed instantly, worried Gajeel would notice.

"No, why'd you think I'd be worried for him?" I snorted.

Gajeel stared at me skeptically, "Because, hot head, the moment he left you've been sitting in the exact same spot for exactly eight hours every day, no matter what anyone does."

I frowned, _did I? Was I being that obvious? _

I shrugged, "I'm just bored, without Ice block to fight with there's nothing to do."

Gajeel slapped the back of my head, making my nose hit the counter.

"Hey metal freak, what was that for?" I demanded, banging my fist on the table.

"Trying to knock some sense into that dead brain of yours, you are worried about him. Get over yourself and admit it already." Gajeel said and shrugged, taking a large gulp of his drink, draining it completely. He grinned and dropped the piece of metal into his mouth and crunched on it happily.

I scowled, "Says who."

Gajeel rolled his eyes, and asked the white haired takeover mage to refill his glass.

"Says me and everyone else who's seen you for the last two weeks, everyone can tell."

I sighed, "Mira, can I have a fire whisky please?" I asked, leaning my chin on my hand.

Mirajane smiled and placed the drink in front of me. "Feeling alright Natsu? I'm sure Gray will be back soon." She said encouragingly before leaving to fix drinks for the rest of the guild.

I sighed again and turned to Gajeel, "Is it really that easy to tell?"

He smirked, "Easier."

I took a sip of my drink and rested my head on my arms, "He's never been this late before, it was just supposed to be three days."

Gajeel shrugged, "Maybe he got caught up, he could have missed the train, or it could have broken down and now he's walking."

My uneasiness lifted slightly at that, but then the metal head had to ruin it by continuing.

"On the other hand, he could have died, gotten captured, he could be getting tortured. Or heck he might have found a girl who could look past his stripping habit." He smirked and cast a sideways glance at me from the corner of his eye.

Sure the first three things were bad but for the life of me, I couldn't figure out why the last one set my teeth on edge and gave me the urge to crack some skulls. Just the thought of seeing the Ice block with some girl had me seeing red and feeling slightly more homicidal than normal.

Gajeel seemed to notice my fists clenching and the metal dragon slayer's smirk widened, "I knew it." he whispered under his breath.

I frowned and turned to him in confusion, "What?"

Gajeel shrugged, "Nothing."

My frown deepened, but I shrugged, _if Gajeel wasn't going to talk, there's no way I'd be able to make him. Unless I beat him up, but I didn't really feel like it._

I sighed, waiting and staring at the wooden post from earlier.

Just when I was about to fall asleep, the guild door burst open and the metallic scent of blood hit my nose hard, making me cringe. I turned around, fire already coating my hand.

I was expecting magic to start flying and intruders to start barging in but I felt the fire go out when there was only one person in the doorway. I couldn't see who it was properly because of the bright light outside creating a shadow over the person's features. Not to mention the fact that the scent of blood was strong enough that I couldn't pick up anything else on the person.

The figure managed to stay standing for a moment longer before they fell to the ground in a heap. The second after, chairs started scraping as everyone who was in the guild went to see who it was. I jumped up almost immediately but couldn't manage to push through the crowd of people to see who was hurt.

"Oh my god," someone choked.

"Get Wendy!" another person yelled, It sounded like Alzack.

My brain was too muddled to even begin to think about who it could be, the only thing on my mind was making sure whoever it was was alive.

After Alzack yelled for someone to find the little sky dragon slayer, I saw Bisca branch away from the crowd and without waiting a moment longer, I dove into the spot she left.

What I saw made me pause, my brain trying to make sense of what I was seeing.

Black hair, no shirt, pale skin, red. Red was everywhere, in his hair, on the ground beneath him, covering his upper body where it seeped through uneven bandages.

I felt my breath hitch and I swore my heart stopped beating for a full five seconds. The world seemed to be put on mute, I couldn't hear anything, not even the sound of my own breathing.

I was only just aware of people trying to speak to me, shaking my shoulders and attempting to draw me back from my own mind as it collapsed around me.

"Who is it?" the familiar gruff voice broke through the muted silence. I silently pleaded that no one would answer Gajeel, I knew who it was but the last thing I wanted was to hear it out loud.

There was a moment of silence, "It's Gray."

I stiffened, the blood rushed through my head so fast I was hardly aware as Gajeel let loose a string of curses and started yelling at everyone to get out of the guild if they didn't want to be burnt to a crisp.

I remember feeling horrible pulsing anger and adrenaline before my consciousness was shoved to the back of my mind and everything went black.

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I hope it was okay :) this is the only chapter that's gonna be in first person, all the others will be third person but it will be switching around a bit :) um yeah, hope you like it!


	2. Chapter 1

Wow I didn't expect such nice reviews :D thanks to those who did and i hope this next chapter is good :)

I don't own Fairy tail :D

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Chapter 1

"I'm serious! Get away from Gray now!" Gajeel yelled. He could see Natsu, stiff as a board and apparently lost in shock.

"Don't be stupid Gajeel, he needs medical treatment!" Alzack argued and went back to putting pressure on Gray's wound.

Gajeel could feel the temperature rising in the guild, how no one else did was beyond him.

"I swear, if none of you listen to me right now, Natsu's going to kill you!" He shouted, gripping his hair, he could feel the heat radiating off of Natsu, the temperature growing every second.

As soon as he finished speaking, a hush fell over the guild members and all turned to look at the fire mage. Everyone stopped moving and Alzack slowly pulled his hands away and hid them behind his back.

"Gajeel, what's going on?" Levy asked, wide eyed and staring at Natsu.

The black haired dragon slayer scoffed lightly, "You read a lot don't you shrimp?" he asked.

She nodded, hesitantly.

"Read anything about a dragon's mate?"

Levy looked ready to pass out. "Everyone, get away from Gray now, but do it slowly." she whispered.

The whole guild looked shocked that Levy was agreeing with Gajeel, but Levy, who'd read more about dragon's then any of them combined and a dragon slayer said they should, that's what they were going to do.

Just then, loud footsteps came from the back of the guild as Bisca returned with Wendy hot on her trail. Gajeel swore, "Stop moving!" he yelled in a hushed tone towards the two louder females as they approached.

He watched Wendy's head snap up sniff the air for a moment and grab the back of Bisca's shirt. Urging the other girl to a halt.

Wendy looked fearfully towards Natsu who had now moved forward and was looking Gray over as though inspecting him.

Everyone continued to edge back slightly, now joined by Bisca and Wendy who was trying to quell the cowgirls insistent questions. No one thought it wise to look away from the fire mage, hence a few dozen pairs of eyes were watching Natsu who had begun to shake.

"Crap, everyone run, now." Gajeel shouted just as Natsu's fire exploded. The guild members booked it for the entrance, only Gajeel staying inside. He secretly hoped he'd be able to reason with the now quite volatile dragon slayer, but he knew his chances were very slim.

The fire that coated Natsu was searing and growing rapidly but it wasn't affecting Gray in the least, in fact the ice mage seemed to actually be moving towards the warmth, twitching in his sleep. His face was still pressed against the boards of the floor though so Gajeel couldn't quite see his face, but he knew it would be one of contentment.

Gajeel took a slow step forward but wished he didn't the moment Natsu snapped his head up and jumped onto Gray, arms and legs bent in preparation to jump at Gajeel should he do anything offensive towards him or Gray.

Gajeel struggled to keep eye contact, Natsu was more dragon then human now, acting purely on instinct, and those instincts were telling him not to let anything hurt his mate – Gray – more than he already was.

Natsu's pupils had become slited, and scales were beginning to appear on his face and arms, pushing lightly through his skin.

Gajeel gulped, normally he wouldn't care if it was anyone else being this possessive of another person, but he knew as well as any dragon slayer that mates were different. Gajeel was honestly surprised Natsu hadn't gone completely ballistic yet.

Gajeel slowly lowered himself to the ground sitting on his knees with his head tilted to the side. Natsu growled and sniffed warily, before growling again and relaxing slightly. Gajeel sighed in relief and chanced moving a little closer. Natsu didn't object until he was a little more than a meter away. The fire dragon slayer became defensive and crouched lower over Gray, baring his sharpened teeth.

Gajeel stopped in his tracks and slowly scooted back a little bit, showing Natsu he didn't intend on taking his mate away from him.

Natsu relaxed again and returned his attention to Gray who was still twitching slightly. Natsu was sniffing at the ice mages wounds, and licking at the blood that escaped the bandages. After a few more minutes, Natsu began to whine quietly and nudge Gray's head while nuzzling his hair and neck.

Inside, Gajeel was freaking out. Gray was going to wake up in a few minutes and when he did, he'd either scream and try to get away, swear at Natsu and punch him in the face, or faint again. All not good options, all of them would end up with the guild exploding and Natsu dragging Gray elsewhere.

Gajeel remained completely silent, waiting for the ice princess to wake up and give a brief explanation before he turned onto his back and saw Natsu.

Gray's eyes fluttered and Gajeel cleared his throat slightly to get Gray's attention.

"Huh?" Gray asked sleepily.

"Oi, Princess, can you hear me?" Gajeel hissed, hoping Natsu wouldn't notice.

Gray blinked and lifted his head slightly, "Loud and clear Junk Brain."

"Listen hard and listen good Gray," Gajeel said, getting right to the point. "Do not move an inch from where you are, do you hear me?"

Gray furrowed his eyebrows, "Why?"

"You're Natsu's mate." Gajeel whispered, "When he saw you walk in covered in blood he went ballistic. Everyone else is outside, the only reason I'm still alive being this close to you is 'cause he let me."

Gray's eyes widened, "So the furnace above me is . . ."

Gajeel winced, "Bingo." He could see Gray becoming more nervous by the second, every muscle in his body was tensing and Natsu chose that moment to nudge Gray's head again, whining softly.

"Listen to me very carefully Gray." Gajeel said softly when Gray looked on the verge of hyperventilating. "He would not hurt you; nothing in this world would make him hurt you. He'd choose death before your pain. Do you understand? If he touched you and you cringed away, he'd spend over a week trying to make it up to you. He will not hurt you."

Gray gulped but nodded, looking slightly more at ease with the situation.

"Gray, you're going to need to turn onto your back, try not to look in pain while you do it and go as slow as possible. Odds are, when he sees you moving he'll try and help you get on your back, do not push him away, accept the help." Gajeel instructed quietly and watched as Gray slowly began turning over onto his back.

True to Gajeel's suspicion, Natsu picked up on Gray's movement and started nudging the side of his face into Gray's chest to help turn him over.

"Now what metal head?" Gray asked, looking up into the curious face of Natsu as the dragon slayer looked down at him. He'd successfully managed to turn over to see his best friend surrounded in fire and crouched over him defensively.

"Bring your hand up and put it around his neck."

Gray wanted to snap at Gajeel that there was no way he was going to do that, but even he knew that in this particular case, he had to do exactly what Gajeel told him.

Slowly and without breaking eye contact, Gray lifted his arm and laid it just behind Natsu's neck, he could feel the pink hair at the nape of Natsu's neck and couldn't help but notice how soft it was despite its spiky appearance.

"Don't tell me I'm going to have to kiss him." Gray hissed and heard a quiet chuckle from Gajeel.

"No, that won't be necessary, just pull his head down to your chest so he can hear your heartbeat. He just needs confirmation that you're alive and then he should go back to normal."

Gray nodded and applied gentle pressure to Natsu's neck. The dragon slayer went with the movement easily and didn't resist in the slightest as Gray slowly brought Natsu's head down to his chest and let his ear rest against his skin.

Gray felt his face heating up slightly but forced himself to remain calm.

A few moments passed and a gentle sigh escaped Natsu's lips before the fire that licked at Natsu's body began to cool in temperature until they disappeared as well as the scales on his arms and – Gray could only assume – on his face as well.

"Natsu?" Gajeel asked.

A low rumble came from the fire mage's chest and Gray felt Natsu's nose appear at his neck.

"Gajeel, what's he doing?" Gray asked.

Gray could practically hear the smirk in the metal dragon slayers voice when he replied. "Now that he knows you're his mate, he's gonna be a lot more . . . shall we say affectionate? As well as possessive and protective, so for the next few weeks, do not leave his side, I'm not kidding."

Gray scowled, "Good to know." He waited a moment the turned his head slightly, "Natsu?" he asked.

"Yes Gray?" Natsu asked, immediately on high alert, face pulled away from Gray's neck and looking down at him.

"Can I get up?" he asked.

Natsu frowned, "No." he said and went back to his neck, nuzzling and sniffing gently.

Gray's mouth dropped open, "Why?" he asked cautiously.

"Because you're hurt still." Natsu said as if it were the answer to everything.

Gray gulped, "Then should we get Wendy to heal me?" he asked.

Natsu stiffened but relaxed a moment later and looked up. Gray knew he was looking at Gajeel since there was no one else in the building.

"Get Wendy." Natsu demanded.

Gray expected Gajeel to scoff and refuse, but instead the normally dark dragon slayer simply stood and made for the guild doors where he called in Wendy.

Gray could tell by Natsu's posture that he was watching the doorway and most likely Wendy walking forward slowly before Gray heard her sit down a few meters away. Gray couldn't see, but he could tell that Wendy had done something that made Natsu relax and he slowly moved from his crouch to beside Gray. The ice mage couldn't protest in time for Natsu to wrap an arm behind his back and another around the front of his waist so he was pulled onto Natsu's lap.

Gray could now see Wendy approaching slowly with Natsu's eyes darting from her to Gajeel before settling on Wendy when she was a foot away from Gray and lowering herself to the ground on her knees.

"Can you remove his bandages for me Natsu?" Wendy asked quietly.

Natsu growled lowly before nodding and slowly peeling away the fraying cloth wrapped around Gray's torso.

Gray had to hold in a hiss of pain as the bandage tugged on the already dried blood around his chest.

After a lot of pain, Gray was free of the strip of cloth and Natsu had resumed his tight hold on him, whining every moment or so at Gray's torso.

Wendy moved a little closer, holding her hand out and hovering over Gray shakily. Gray could tell she knew what was going on as well as Gajeel could. Her hand was slowly encased itself in blue light and Gray sighed at the relief the healing magic brought.

Natsu let out a quiet purr at Gray's sigh, causing the ice mage to gulp at his friends' odd actions.

When Wendy was done healing Gray, she stood slowly and walked backwards to Gajeel's side. Natsu shifted the position of his arms around Gray and lifted him up bridal style.

Gray squeaked involuntarily at the sudden movement, but knew better than to argue with Natsu right now. He was definitely still out of it.

"Natsu, you should take Gray to the infirmary to rest." Gajeel suggested.

Natsu hesitated a moment before nodding and heading for the back of the guild where the rooms designated for the injured were.

After some difficulty, Natsu managed to open the door to one of the rooms and lay Gray onto the white bed.

Natsu sat himself on the chair beside Gray and stared at Gray with a rather soft look.

"Did Wendy help?" Natsu asked after a moment.

Gray nodded, "Yeah, I'm good."

Natsu grinned, and Gray couldn't help but notice that Natsu's canines were still abnormally long and sharp. He assumed the dragon slayer was still under some influence from his dragon instincts.

Just then the door burst open and Erza charged in followed closely by a dismayed Gajeel trying earnestly to get Erza to back off.

"Natsu! What have you done to Gray?" she demanded, pointed a sword at Natsu.

It only took Natsu half a second to recognize the threat and reacted quickly by jumping onto the bed over Gray protectively.

"Erza," Gray began.

"Uh huh," she replied, staring in shock at Natsu's reaction to her arrival.

"Now's not really the best time I don't think. Get Gajeel or Wendy to explain it to you." Gray said quietly, trying not to react too much as Natsu started sniffing his face all over, presumably looking for any new wounds.

Erza nodded slightly dazed and turned on her heel, quickly striding out so Gajeel could close the door.

"Don't let Natsu leave until I come back." He said as parting words and the door was shut, leaving Natsu and Gray alone again.

Natsu, who had recognized that the threat was gone, returned to his seat beside the bed and smiled at Gray warmly.

Gray returned the gesture slightly halfheartedly. If Natsu noticed, he didn't say, if anything, he smiled wider.

A moment passed in silence before Gray cleared his throat and settled further onto the bed. "Well uh, I'm going to get some rest."

Natsu nodded and stayed sitting at his spot.

Gray gulped, he had to make sure that Natsu wouldn't leave, which he couldn't very well do if he was asleep, but he needed rest.

"Can you stay?" Gray asked.

He found himself flushing deeply having said that. Never would he have thought he'd say something like that to his rival of all people.

Natsu nodded again, grinning wider, "Of course."

Gray smiled slightly and lay back, letting his eyes slide shut.

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awe 3 lol :D hope it was good!


	3. Chapter 2

Hey guys :D so a little bit of Natsu's thoughts in here, and this chapter is SUPER long! :D hope you all like it :)

I don't own Fairy tail :( if i did, no one would be able to tell what was going on XD (my drawing sucks)

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Chapter 2

It was a strange feeling, Natsu mused to himself. He felt not quite present in his body, more like on the sidelines while someone else directed his movements and actions. He'd actually kind of blacked out from when he saw that it was Gray that had been injured. When he was awake again, the weird feeling had started and he'd found his ear pressed against Gray's chest listening to his heartbeat.

Despite how odd it sounded for him to admit it, even mentally, the sound of Gray's heartbeat was rather comforting, especially when Natsu didn't know what to think of Gray's condition.

He was watching Gray, dutifully staying seated on the chair despite the slight noise coming from the guild hall.

Natsu assumed that whatever he was sharing the reins with had placed Gray's health at number one priority.

Not that he was complaining. His memories told him he should have scoffed at Gray's request but stayed anyway, while any and all present instincts and feelings were thinking of Gray as though he were indescribably precious.

Natsu took the time to study the peaceful Gray, everything in him was telling him that Gray was beautiful. There was nothing he could do to deny those thoughts, he agreed whole heartedly with each one.

He slowly felt himself calm down, but the base instincts that had appeared didn't disappear in the slightest, if anything, they were stronger.

The door behind him creaked and Natsu was immediately on guard. He spun around and regarded the approacher with suspicion.

When he sensed no ill intent coming from the iron dragon slayer, Natsu dropped back onto the chair facing towards the new arrival.

"I explained what happened to the guild, they won't get close without your permission." Gajeel told Natsu softly. If he accidentally woke Gray, Natsu would go batshit crazy.

Natsu nodded, then frowned, "Um, what _did_ happen?" he asked innocently.

Gajeel drew in a long breath before exhaling shortly.

"Mate's aren't picked by fate and all that shit, the second you fall in love that's it, no one else. Your stupid feelings must have been getting pretty strong because anything could have set you off. Someone talking bad about Gray, him walking in half naked or injured, as you just moments ago demonstrated." Gajeel snorted and Natsu nodded in understanding.

"When he walked in, bloody and beaten, your instincts took over to make sure nothing else happened to him."

Natsu nodded again and turned back to Gray, his eyes traveled over the much calmer ice mage and the clean bandages covering the wounds.

"Stay near him for a few weeks." Gajeel said quietly, "You might go a bit insane if you're not close enough to him."

Natsu didn't outwardly reply other than to jerk his head.

Gajeel took his leave and closed the door softly behind him. He breathed out in relief, dealing with an instinct filled Dragon was similar to walking along a tight wire thousands of feet above ground.

He returned to the guild hall where the whole guild was still present, speaking amongst themselves in hushed whispers.

"No one is to go near Gray for the next few weeks, Natsu is still easily volatile and wouldn't hesitate to rip your head off if he thought you'd try to either hurt his mate or take him away." Gajeel said over the muted noise of the guild. "I really can't stress that enough."

Collective nods and silent gulps traveled around the room.

"Everyone will have to take turns waiting out by the front door for when the others on missions get back."

"I offer to go first." Erza said gallantly, stepping forward with her head held high.

Gajeel nodded, "Fine, everyone else decide amongst yourselves the order you'll watch in."

With that, the dragon slayer turned to the reoccupied bar and asked Mira for some food for Gray. He shook his head and sighed, this was going to be a long month.

Gray woke from his sleep, blinking blearily. He yawned loudly and immediately there was a face directly in front of his.

"You're awake?" Natsu asked after Gray jumped slightly in surprise.

"Uh, yeah. How long?" he asked.

Natsu leaned back and smiled, "A few hours." He said and seemed to remember something before grabbing for a small bowl on the small counter beside the bed. Gray watched Natsu sniff the contents of the bowl before grabbing the spoon and directing it towards Gray's mouth.

Gray looked at the contents of the spoon and – seeing that it was ordinary chicken noddle soup – grudgingly allowed Natsu to spoon feed him.

Natsu smiled impossibly wide at Gray's cooperation and continued to feed the ice mage until the bowl was empty.

By that point, Gray's face was completely red and he was trying to look at anything other than the dragon slayer. It proved to be quite difficult seeing as there was nothing of even remote interest in the room.

Natsu whined quietly and stood, leaning over Gray's figure. He started sniffing again, searching the ice mage's body for any sign of pain.

"Mate okay?" he asked in worry, nudging Gray's shoulder with his nose.

Gray gulped, but turned to look at Natsu's concerned features before nodded slightly. It was little more than a short jerk, but Natsu's worry immediately vanished and a smile replaced his frown. Gray was sure that Natsu would return to his seat, but instead, the dragon slayer saw fit to gently lift Gray up and move him a little to the side before stretching out on the bed as well.

Gray's eyes grew impossibly wide and he found himself holding his breath when Natsu draped an arm over his waist and played with his hair with a free hand.

Gray was stiff as a board, trying not to move and or breath, lest he do something stupid.

He actually hoped someone would walk through the door and deem him ready to leave the infirmary just so he could escape.

Natsu seemed unaware to Gray's internal dispute and released a low rumbling purr as his movements grew sluggish until they finally stopped and his breathing evened. Gray gulped again and waited a moment to be sure that Natsu was asleep before trying to pull away from the arm that kept him prisoner. Instantly, a low growl filled the room and Gray was tugged back into Natsu. Gray was certain he was going to die, eyes wide he waited in tense silence until he felt Natsu's nose push into his hair sluggishly.

Gray could only assume that Natsu had acted on unconscious instinct when he'd tried to slip away. Deciding not to try and risk another escape, Gray relaxed slightly, feeling the pulsing warmth that constantly came from Natsu's skin seep into his own. It felt like there was a slow burning fire just under the dragon slayer skin. It was a strange but comforting feeling and his body responded to the constant warmth easily.

With one last futile attempt to stay awake, Gray's consciousness drifted off and he succumbed to sleep in his rival's arms.

The next morning, Gray woke up to find himself in the exact same position as before. Natsu was still sound asleep and snoring softly.

Gray relaxed slightly in his rival's hold, not wanting to risk a similar reaction to before he went to sleep. He watched the dragon slayer with barely concealed curiosity; Natsu looked so calm while asleep. Nothing like when he was awake and raving for a fight. The relaxation Gray found was an entirely new image of Natsu, strange yes, but in a way much more comforting then when he's going on about how he's going to defeat Erza or Gildarts.

Gray suddenly frowned, _how do I get him to wake up?_ He wondered.

He wasn't sure he wanted to risk poking and prodding at the male in case he lashed out, which was known to happen very often according to Happy. Punching him awake was out of the question seeing as Gray was Natsu's mate or whatever, who knew what that would trigger.

Eventually, he settled for just trying to call Natsu awake, it would probably result in far less painful results.

"Natsu?"

No response.

Gray gulped and placed a hand on Natsu's arm, rocking him slightly.

"Natsu? Wake up."

Gray saw the fire mage begin to stir and scrunch up his nose. The first thought that came to mind was that that small movement was adorable but he quickly dispelled the notion and continued with his attempts at rousing Natsu.

"Wake up." Gray gave Natsu a harder nudge, eliciting a small groan and a large yawn, showing off the still abnormally elongated canines.

Gray gulped again, knowing he'd still need to tread lightly. Natsu was still under some of his dragon influence apparently.

Natsu blinked open his eyes and managed to focus his bleary vision on the black haired boy beside him. Immediately, a bright smile lit up his features and he pulled the ice mage closer to him.

"Morning," he said, burying his face into black hair.

"M – Mornin' Natsu," Gray said weakly.

Natsu frowned and pulled his face away from his mate's hair to stare him in the face.

"Are you okay?" Natsu asked.

Gray drew a soft shuddering smile onto his face and nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine."

Natsu stared at Gray a moment longer before grinning widely, "Okay, but if anything's wrong, you'll tell me right?" he asked, a frown only just visible on the edge of his features.

Gray nodded reassuringly, "Sure."

Natsu beamed, and cuddled Gray closer to him still. He nuzzled his nose into Gray's neck and breathed deeply, ingraining the ice mages scent into his memory.

Gray coughed quietly, "Um Natsu?" he asked hesitantly.

"M – hm?" Natsu hummed.

"Can I get something to eat?" Gray asked hopefully.

Natsu thought for a moment, "Are you sure you're feeling alright enough to walk?" he asked in concern.

Gray nodded, "Yeah, I'm really bored just laying here doing nothing."

Natsu was silent for a moment before he nodded, "If you're hungry, you need to eat." he decided and swung himself off the bed. He grinned brightly at Gray and reached a hand out for his mate to take.

Gray's cheeks tinted slightly at the gesture but accepted the hand anyway. He let Natsu pull him up from the bed and lead him over to the door. Natsu slowly cracked open the door and released Gray's hand only to wrap it around his waist.

Natsu saw Gray's blush intensify as he lead him into the guild hall.

The reaction to their appearance was instantaneous, the silence was deafening and every eye in the room was locked solely on them. Gray gulped, and tried to unconsciously pull away from Natsu to ease his embarrassment.

Instead of letting him move away like Gray had hoped, Natsu pulled him closer with a resounding growl aimed at the occupants of the guild. The guild members quickly got the message and averted their eyes, going back to their silent conversations.

Gray didn't know squat about Dragon's let alone their mates, but from what he could tell so far, they were possessive as hell. He had a feeling he'd be well accustomed to his rival's growl by the end of the day if not sooner.

With a short jerk of his head, Natsu tugged Gray over to Mira who had an impossibly bright smile on her face.

"Hey Gray, how are you feeling?" she asked, dying off a glass.

"Good," he replied shortly.

Before Gray could protest in the slightest, Natsu sat himself on a stool and pulled Gray up to sit on his lap.

Gray's face was completely flushed by now, for someone whose body heat never reached over a couple degrees, this was like being shoved in a volcano.

Mira hid a giggle behind her hand as well as most of the girls in the guild except for Juvia. She was currently crying a literal river from her eyes.

Natsu ignored the quiet murmurs being spread around the guild and elected to wrap his arms around Gray's waist and rest his chin on his mate's shoulder.

"Gray is hungry." Natsu told Mira monotonously.

Mirajane smiled, "Alright then, Gray, what would you like?" she asked sweetly.

Gray frowned slightly, "I'm not sure. I'm fine with anything." He generalized.

Mira nodded, "Alright, how about a bit of everything then?" she asked.

Gray laughed, "Maybe not _everything_, but sure, some variety would be nice."

"Coming right up." Mira said and started preparing the food.

Gray smiled warmly and for a moment, forgot about Natsu completely until he felt a tightening around his waist. His blush was back full force and he tried really hard to ignore it but it was getting really hard.

The guild was completely silent and Gray could feel all those eyes on him again. This time, Natsu snarled loudly and gave the entire guild hall a chilly glare while pulling Gray even closer.

"N – Natsu, c – can't bre–ath." Gray chocked out.

The grip on his waist immediately slackened and Natsu let out a soft whimper of distress.

"I'm sorry Gray." He said, "I didn't mean to."

Gray's eyes widened in complete shock as did everyone else's in the guild, a few people even dropped their drinks making the glass shatter and the liquid create small amber rivers on the wood floor.

Natsu Dragneel, just _apologized_, to _Gray_.

_It's snowing in Hades, _Gray thought dramatically.

"It's fine," he smiled at the apologizing male.

Natsu still looked distressed but slightly more relieved at Gray's acceptance of his apology.

The fire mage glared once more at the guild before returning his full attention to Gray.

Suddenly the guild door opened and Gray turned his head to see Lucy stride through the opening with a beaming smile on her face.

"Hey guys, I'm back." She announced.

The guild offered their greetings but inside, Gray was freaking out. Lucy hadn't been there when Natsu had gone ballistic, she didn't know what happened. Gray fervently searched the guild for Gajeel, hoping the other dragon slayer could grab Lucy and explain everything to her before she did anything to piss Natsu off.

"Hey you two, I see you're getting along." Lucy said, grabbing a chair beside Natsu.

Gray felt Natsu stiffen immediately and shift Gray slightly so the fire dragon slayer was mostly in between the two of them.

Gray saw Lucy's eyes dancing with mirth and amusement, seeming to overlook the obvious warning in both Natsu and Gray's expressions. The warnings however, were for entirely different reasons.

"So what happened to make you two so chummy?" she asked, leaning her chin on her hand and leaning closer.

Natsu growled deep in his throat, trying to scare Lucy off.

Lucy frowned slightly at Natsu's odd behavior but ignored it, waiting for an answer to her question.

When neither of them replied, she pouted, "Aw come on, I wanna know."

Now, Gray knew Natsu was being overly . . . protective and possessive at the moment. He assumed it was dragon instincts, but he expected it to come through only on the major things. Like if he got punched, or beat up or something. Never did he expect Natsu would jump from his seat and pin Lucy to the ground over something as harmless as poking Gray in the shoulder.

Gray was shocked for a full minute, sitting mouth wide open on the stool before he was spurred into action. He grabbed Natsu's arm that held Lucy's wrists above her head and tried to pull him off her.

"Natsu, calm down, she didn't mean it in a threatening way." Gray said, struggling to make the fire mage release the blonde. Lucy looked like any second she was going to start hyperventilating.

Instead of releasing her, Natsu gripped her wrists tighter and growled in her face, noses just a hairs breadth apart.

Gray could feel the anxiety in the guild rise dramatically and struggled to think of a solution. He bit his lip and with a face as red as a tomato, dropped to his knees beside Natsu and wrapped his arms around him. That was probably the most embarrassing thing he'd ever done, but the fire mage relaxed quickly and whined softly.

"Natsu, I'm fine. Nothing happened and I'm not hurt. So please calm down." Gray whispered.

Natsu whimpered again but reluctantly released Lucy and stood, drawing Gray up with him. Natsu encased the ice mage in his arms protectively before sending a last second glare and low growl at Lucy. It was a clear warning that if she tried that again, she wouldn't be quite so lucky.

Gray squirmed his head over Natsu's shoulder and gave Lucy an apologetic look before Natsu lifted Gray up and returned to their previous seating arrangements. Lucy, still in complete shock was slowly lifted from the ground and taken to a separate room for some debriefing on the situation.

Meanwhile, Natsu was quite comfortable sitting with Gray while the ice mage ate the food in front of him. The moment Gray was finished and he thanked Mira, Natsu pulled him away from the bar and back to the infirmary room. The door closed softly behind them and Natsu led Gray over to sit on the edge of the bed. The dragon slayer sat as well, little more than an inch of space between them.

Natsu hesitantly lifted a hand and smoothed some of Gray's hair behind his ear. "Are you sure you're okay?"

Gray nodded jerkily. Despite Gajeel's minimal reassurance, Gray wasn't entirely positive that he was safe with Natsu while he was like this. Sure, to most people that little scene with Lucy in the guild hall would only make someone feel safer if Natsu had done it for them. But to Gray, he was only aware of how far away his friend was, there was no telling what dragon Natsu would do if Gray pushed too far.

"You are tense." Natsu murmured.

Gray looked up, "Huh?"

"Something is wrong, please tell me."

Gray brought a hand to his face and rubbed harshly in frustration. He stole a glance at the dragon slayer to see nothing but worry in his whole posture. He smiled reassuringly, "It's nothing to worry about."

Natsu frowned and took one of Gray's hands. "Yes it is, anything that bothers you, bother me too. Please trust me." he pleaded.

Gray heaved a sigh, "It's just, I didn't expect this."

Natsu tilted his head to the side in confusion, "This?"

"I didn't think I'd be your mate or whatever it's called. I thought you liked Lucy." Gray said quietly.

Natsu scowled when Gray said Lucy's name. Obviously he wasn't quite over the whole poking thing, but he did gain a contemplative expression as he thought of the best way to answer the statement.

"When I was little, Igneel taught me a lot about dragons and all the side effects of the magic I would be learning. One of said side effects would be a dragon's behavior when looking for a mate." Natsu paused and stroked Gray's hair again. "I didn't pay much attention when he talked about it, but I remembered the key points. I suppose, now that I think about it, I've loved you all these years but I thought it was more of a rivalry hate than love." He finished with a rueful smile.

Gray couldn't help but laugh, "Idiot, how do you mix up love and hate?"

Natsu smiled, "It's a fine line between love and hate. This makes it all the easier to cross over without even knowing you have."

There was a moment of silence until with much hesitation, Natsu leaned forward and only just brushed his lips against Gray's cheek.

Gray was shocked into further silence with a dark blush rising to his face.

Glad that Gray hadn't pushed him away, Natsu smiled wider and stood from the bed heading to the door. "I'm going to find Wendy to have her check your injuries."

Gray could to little more than a quick nod before Natsu left the room closing it carefully behind him.

Shocked and confused, Gray lay back on the bed and waited for Natsu to return with Wendy.

* * *

Well i hope that was satisfactory :) so there's the name of the story . . . and i know Gray and Natsu are WAY ooc but psh grays never embarrassed and Natsu's never a love struck dragon so i'm improvising here XD


	4. Chapter 3

Hello :D Here be chapter 3! lol finally right XD here it is!

oh and i also don't own fairy tail :( *snaps fingers* darn :)P

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Chapter 3

Natsu wasn't stupid. He knew something was bothering Gray and he didn't like it. He didn't like how Gray wouldn't tell him what it was. Did that mean the ice mage didn't trust him? That thought sent a white hot sear of pain in his chest. It felt like his heart had just been carved out with a knife and he'd been left to bleed.

He wanted Gray to trust him, it was second only to the ice mages happiness. That always came first.

So, with purposeful strides, Natsu found himself at the bar while Wendy checked up on Gray. He stopped a foot from Gajeel who was drinking casually from a frothing mug.

"What do you want flame brain?" he grunted into his cup as a form of address.

Without hesitation, Natsu grabbed Gajeel's mug and slammed it on the table, warranting the iron dragon's full attention.

"Oi! What do you think you're –?"

"I need your help." Natsu interrupted.

Gajeel blinked, "Help with what exactly." He asked suspiciously.

Natsu stole a glance around the hall, seeing that most of its occupants were staring right at them, Natsu didn't feel it necessary to divulge his problem in front of everyone. One person was enough when it concerned his mate.

Grabbing Gajeel's drink in one hand and the dragon slayers wrist in another, Natsu dragged Gajeel from the hall and into a side room close to Gray's.

"What's the big idea? I didn't do nothin' to Gray so if you're gonna kill me I gotta right to know why."

Natsu scowled, "I asked for your help, didn't I?" he said.

Gajeel shrugged and yanked back his drink. "Sure, but for all I know you could be askin' me to dig a grave. So get on with it." he demanded.

Natsu explained his worry to Gajeel who snorted and scoffed at the appropriate times. He laughed a few times as well. By the end, Gajeel was a laughing mess on the floor, drink safe on a low table while Natsu's eye twitched every few seconds.

Eventually, Gajeel stopped and stood, wiping a few stray tears from his eyes.

"Look Natsu," he began, swirling his drink. "Point blank, Gray's confused. He barely finished his mission alive and got home expecting a normal medical treatment and bed rest. Instead, he got you, in a flaming rage hovering over him and chasing everyone else out of the guild." Gajeel paused for a moment, waiting for Natsu's growls to diminish.

"My advice is that you try and back off a little. I'm not suggesting you leave him alone completely because that will only confuse him more and hurt you. But try to lighten up a bit, he needs his best friend to help him get back on his feet after that mission. Not a dragon in mate mode, be the best friend, not the over protective dragon. Give him some space and let him come to terms with what's happening. Just let him adjust and he'll come around."

To say the least, Natsu wasn't happy with Gajeel's suggestions at all. He didn't like the idea of leaving Gray alone for any extended period of time and giving him space was definitely pushing it a little. Natsu knew the basics of what being someone's mate entitled, he'd be very protective – already clearly demonstrated - and really possessive. Just the thought of someone coming along and trying to take Gray away had him seeing bright red.

But despite all this, Natsu did see some truth to what Gajeel was saying, and he instantly felt guilty for confusing Gray and making him, presumably, uncomfortable with the whole situation.

So with a significantly more depressed aura than he normally had, Natsu nodded dejectedly and left the room with Gajeel close behind.

Natsu quickly made his way to Gray's room and had to hold himself back from tackling his mate in a hug.

_Gajeel said to give him space, so that's what I'm going to do_. He thought.

Bringing a bright smile to his face, Natsu walked forward and sat on the stool beside the bed. It made him all the more resolved when he saw the almost hesitant smile he was given in return.

"Are your injuries almost healed ice block?" he asked.

Gray blinked in surprise; he was clearly not expecting one of their friendly insults as a form of address, especially with Natsu's state to put into consideration.

"Um, yeah. Wendy said just one more night and I should be fine. The wounds weren't that deep but I just got really weak from blood loss." He shrugged.

Natsu grinned, "Great!"

Gray frowned, something wasn't right with this image. A few minutes ago, Natsu was the very definition of dragon but now he was suddenly reverted back to those playful insults and that wide smile? His canines were still longer than usual so he was still more dragon, but his behavior now was totally different from earlier on.

"Are you okay Natsu?" he asked.

Natsu tilted his head to the side, "Yeah, I'm fine. Shouldn't I be asking you that, droopy eyes?" (1)

Gray's frown deepened, sure he said he was fine, but his actions spoke otherwise. He reached out to try and grab Natsu's hand and ask what was wrong, but at the very last second, Natsu stood effectively dodging Gray's fingers.

"Is there anything you need? You know cause you're gonna be cooped up in here for another 24 hours? A book maybe?" Natsu suggested, heading for the door.

Gray tried to shove down the involuntary spark of hurt that erupted in his chest when the fire mage avoided his hand. But it seemed to squeeze at his heart in a painfully constricting way. Realizing Natsu was still waiting for an answer, he nodded, not trusting himself to speak without his voice cracking.

Still grinning, Natsu made a short wave and left the room with barely a sound.

Minutes later, Gajeel opened the door to find Gray sitting in exactly the same spot looking more confused than ever.

Gray blinked out of his internal monologue trying to explain why Natsu was having so many emotional swings recently when the iron dragon slayer stepped into the room.

Gajeel sighed, "What'd flame brain do this time?" he asked.

"Why are you here?" Gray questioned, completely ignoring the other mages inquiry.

Gajeel rolled his eyes, "Came to check up on ya', izat so bad? Now answer my question."

"He's acting . . . normal. Like he never went berserk yesterday at all." Gray rubbed his palms into his forehead, "I know it shouldn't bother me, but it does anyway. I really don't know what to think anymore, this whole occurrence is messing with my head and I don't know what's real anymore."

Gajeel sighed and leaned back against a wall, crossing his pierced arms.

"Look icy, he's only acting that way because I told him you might need some space to think. I know you're confused and the whole protective guardian dragon thing ain't helpin' one bit, I know that for fact. Fact is, Natsu wants you to trust him. He knows that right now you don't. you're scared you're gonna mess up and he'd gonna go up in smoke and kill you right?" When Gray didn't verbally respond, Gajeel nodded, "Don't you remember what I told you? If he gave you a paper cut he'd run around crazy looking for ice, remember ten minutes later that you're a freaking ice mage, wrap it up and then proceed to shower you with flowers and or assorted chocolates."

Gray couldn't help but laugh at that image.

"I ain't kidding, I saw it happen with this other dragon slayer I knew, and he was a groveling mess. It didn't matter his mate said it was no big deal and that it didn't hurt, the overwhelming guilt at having hurt your mate even as small as a paper cut can lead us to near self-harming thoughts."

Gray gulped at just how dark Gajeel looked saying that. "Did he do that?"

Gajeel shook his head, "Nah, sure we might think about it, but we'd never actually do it because we knew how much it would upset our mate. That is the last thing any of us would ever want. Trust me when I say that if you died, unless he was held back or you told him to keep living, he would follow right after you with no regrets."

The images began popping into Gray's mind, none of them were pretty.

"There's nothing stronger than what a dragon feels for their mate. Once the dragon, or in this case, dragon slayer falls in love, that's the only one they will ever love. Especially once their dragon side acknowledges it, such as when you came back to the guild covered in blood. You'll never find a stronger bond in the world than the one that will eventually grow between you two. Think about it and talk to him when he gets back." Gajeel turned to leave but paused at the door, "one more thing, when he asks, make sure he knows I didn't do anything."

Gray was about to ask what he meant, when the dragon slayer left the room and closed the door behind him.

The ice mage was left with his thoughts and all the information he'd just been given flying through his mind on wings.

When Natsu returned book in hand, the first thing he was aware of was Gajeel scent in the room. Overcome with worry, Natsu rushed over to Gray, startling the ice mage from his thoughts by grabbing his shoulders. The pink haired mage then began to sniff all over his mate, making sure nothing was wrong.

"He didn't do anything did he?" Natsu asked, practically growling.

A light bulb seemed to go off in Gray's head, "No, we just talked." He tentatively grabbed Natsu's arms reassuringly and smiled. "It's fine, I promise."

Completely trusting and with no hesitation, Natsu nods and smiles back before leaning back and handing Gray his book.

"I remember you saying at one point that this was your favorite," he explained when Gray's eyes widened.

Gray felt some deep lost emotion well up in his chest, "You remembered that?"

Natsu nodded, "Yeah, I think I remember even the most mundane things about you, like you only ever put exactly three ice cubes in whatever you're drinking (2), despite the fact that you take everything else off on a regular basis, that necklace you have never comes off. You wait twenty minutes after getting hot food before eating it, I remember not to interrupt you when you're reading unless I want to end up with a broken nose again." Natsu chuckled at the memory, Gray had been reading some kind of fantasy thing and Natsu thought it would be a splendid idea to go up and ask what it was about by way of yanking it from the ice mage's grasp.

Gray blushed sheepishly, and Natsu couldn't help but think how adorable it looked.

They were both silent for a moment before Gray broke it by asking a rather tense question.

"Natsu, do you mind if we talk seriously for a minute?" he asked.

Immediately, Natsu was straight faced and nodding with a completely serious look on his face. "What is it?"

Gray gulped, "It's about the whole mate thing."

Natsu felt his blood run cold, was Gray going to reject him? Tell him to leave him alone from now on? The very thought of that had Natsu feeling tears begin to erupt behind his eyes.

"Y – yeah?" he asked, voice cracking with worry.

Gray's eyes widened and he hurriedly waved his hands in front of him, "No, no! it's nothing bad I promise, I just have a few questions, that's all."

The cold began to evaporate in Natsu's veins hearing the reassuring words, but he never specified what kind of bad it was. For all he knew, Gray could still tell him to get lost.

Gulping down the lump in his throat, Natsu smiled and nodded for Gray to go on, "Fire away."

"Okay um, first off. Why?" Gray asked.

Natsu frowned and tilted his head in confusion, "Why what?"

Gray blushed, "What made you uh, fall for me?" he asked quietly, only just barely above a whisper.

Natsu blinked once than a grin stretched from ear to ear. "That's easy, your eyes."

"Huh?"

Natsu leaned in closer, "They say that the eyes are the windows to the soul. In most people all you really see is your reflection if you look way up close."

Natsu was nearly nose to nose with Gray now and the ice mage was quickly become a popularly miscategorized fruit.

"Yours don't do that, I can just stare into them forever and I won't see anything but your very soul, the very thing that people hide behind masks and false personalities. You leave your soul wide open and hanging off your sleeve."

Gray was about to protest before Natsu leaned in a little closer and bumped their noses together, "But I wouldn't have it any other way."

There was a moment of silence in which Gray gulped and struggled to regain control of his breathing, "Um, okay. Why did you only just . . . go dragon on the guild when I came back bloodied and half dead?"

Natsu frowned, "Because you came back bloodied and half dead. I felt a sudden urge to make sure you were safe. Just to protect you and make sure nothing else happened while you were like this. I kind of blacked out too so I don't really remember much of what I did. But I do remember waking up and feeling absolute devotion directed solely at you. It was always there, but this incident just shed some light on it. Shoved it down to center stage where I couldn't ignore it anymore." Natsu gulped and tilted his face down so that the crown of his head touched Gray's chest. "You have no idea how scared I was. For a few minutes I think I thought you were dead. You weren't moving and as a dragon I don't think I was really smart enough to check for a pulse." He chuckled a bit ruefully.

Gray couldn't do anything but place a hand at the back of Natsu's head and stroke the strands softly.

"Is there anything else I need to know?" he asked quietly.

Natsu nodded slowly, "One thing. When I kind of lost it yesterday, I officially began courting you whether you accepted anything or not. If you don't love me already, I get two months to 'woo' you. If by the end you still don't, you have full right to reject me."

Gray gulped, "And if I do?"

Natsu sighed and leaned away to sit back on the stool. "Then I'll walk away."

Gray contemplated his pros and cons. He could reject Natsu here and now and never have to deal with any of this ever again. But he had no idea how Natsu would react as a whole. He could fall into complete depression and resort to self-harm and drinking. He gulped at that image and instantly decided he never wanted to see that. Seeing Natsu like that would be the most gut wrenching thing he'd most definitely see in his life. On the other hand, he could accept the courting ritual thing and see if after time he could . . . potentially love Natsu.

Before Gray could think of a way to word his acceptance to the courting thing, Natsu stood from the stool again and kneeled down in front of him. Natsu grabbed both of Gray's hands and held them together at Gray's knees.

"Gray, will you please give me a chance to make you fall in love with me?" he asked, endless hope shimmering just behind his eyes.

Gray bit his lip but nodded slowly, "Yeah."

Words could not describe the utter joy and elation that was spreading across Natsu's whole body. He seemed barely able to contain it and his movements were slightly jerky when he raised one of Gray's hands to his mouth and kissed the knuckles without breaking eye contact.

"Thank you."

* * *

So was it any good? is it moving too fast? too slow? lol this is my first time trying a story between these two let alone two guys so i really don't know what i'm doing XD thanks for reading and i hope its alright :D

(1) i really don't know if Natsu normally calls gray slanty or droopy eyes but if i'm wrong let me know :D


	5. Chapter 4

Okay :D hi! sorry it took so long :( but i didn't actually have this chapter finished yet and i just finished a lot of work but there's more to come XD oh well . . . anyway, updates may be very few and far between until summer at least but i hope you like this chapter :D

DISCLAIMER: i don't own fairy tail :D (if i did, the characters would look like stickmen/women)

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Chapter 4

Gray woke up the next morning feeling completely drained. His decision to let Natsu – as he put it – court him, was beginning to look a little scary.

Gray wasn't normally scared of many things, yes he was scared of demons. Facing off against the monster Deliora was easily the cause of that. But the thought of having a – nearly – litteral dragon courting him was a little bit daunting.

One of the first things he noticed was that Natsu was not in the room. Gray frowned, he'd sort of come to expect the dragon slayer to at least be slumped over on the stool with his head on the bed. It turns out Gray didn't have to wait long for said dragon slayer to make a reappearance. The pink headed male seemed to be trying to sneak inside the room without making any noise. Obviously unaware that Gray was awake.

The ice mage couldn't help but smile slightly at the tray he saw in Natsu's hand. He waited until Natsu had put the tray on a firm surface before making a sound.

"Mornin' Natsu." Gray mumbled, still half asleep.

Natsu jumped slightly in surprise before turning around and beaming at Gray.

"Good morning." He chirped and nearly jumped onto the stool in hid giddiness. "So you get released today and I brought you breakfast to celebrate."

Gray felt his cheeks heat slightly just under his eyes. He hoped it wasn't too noticeable but he couldn't help but feel like his body temperature had just risen a couple degrees.

"Thank you." He said as Natsu placed the tray on his lap.

Natsu made no reply other than to smile and sit back on the stool, apparently content to watch Gray eat. still, Gray hesitantly asked if Natsu had already eaten.

"Yup, I ate a little earlier."

Grudgingly and only with Natsu's continued urging did Gray manage to finish eating and push the tray back slightly. Natsu took the small hint and readily grabbed the tray and put it back on the low table.

Suddenly, Natsu's eyes shot open and he groaned openly. "Dang, I forgot something, I'll be right back okay?" he said reluctantly, the last part directed at Gray. Gray frowned slightly but nodded and watched Natsu almost literally disappear in a trail of smoke as the dragon slayer ran from the room.

Gray didn't have much time to ponder Natsu's odd behavior before he reappeared with a rectangular box. With a wide smile, Natsu walked forward and albeit shyly offered the box to Gray.

The ice mage frowned slightly, narrowed eyes inspecting the box and running his fingers along the edges. It was easy to tell the box was made of wood, but from there on it was a marvel to simply look at. The box was trimmed in thin strips of gold with a rooftop style lid were the edges overlapped the box edge by a centimeter. The intricate carvings etched into the wood were beyond detail, the dragon inscribed onto the wood seemed to be breathing with every small shift the box made in Gray's hands.

Slowly, so as not to possibly damage the beautiful piece, Gray lifted the lid and peered inside the box only to nearly drop the lid onto his fingers in shock.

Inside, nestled in dark purple satin cushioning was a gold cuff bracelet. Approximately two inches wide and less than half a centimeter thick, the cuff was crafted from a shimmering gold. Similar to the box, the cuff held the design of a large dragon in midflight, spewing out a great stream of fire. Gray knew it was his imagination, but when tilted into the light at a certain angle, the fire and certain scales seemed to give off a reddish hue.

Gray looked up at Natsu in shock, surely this gorgeous piece of jewelry wasn't meant for him. After a moment, Natsu started to look a little bit uncomfortable, shifting in spot and a wary look coming into his eyes.

"Is it um, acceptable?" he asked hesitantly.

Gray, still in shock that Natsu owned such an item of great value, was still unsure as to what this bracelet was for.

"Um, I don't mean to sound rude, but what is it for?" Gray asked, ghosting a hand over the smooth material. He didn't dare touch it in case it shattered under his touch.

The question seemed to put Natsu slightly more at ease but still answered rather hesitantly. "It's a courting gift. Its purpose is more or less to show other dragon slayers that you're taken. Of course it won't work on humans because they wouldn't be able to understand what it is, but any dragon slayer who sees that should get the idea pretty quick." Natsu said and a bit more hesitantly added, "Is it acceptable?"

Gray simply gaped at the shining solid gold cuff, "Its too acceptable that I don't think I'd be able to bring myself to wear it. In a good way of course, but I feel like I'm going to break it if I wear it."

At this, Natsu' relaxed completely, "So you accept it?" he asked.

"I – I don't know, how much did this cost? You must have spent thousands of jewels for the box alone."

Natsu chuckled and sat at the edge of the bed, "Not one, Igneel made it for me to give to my mate. It was made entirely for this purpose. Heat resistant, hard as steel and completely scratch resistant. I may have to fix the size if it's too big or small but I'm glad it's to your standards."

"Standards? If you mentioned a courting gift I'd expect an all you can eat buffet, not a solid gold bracelet. But are you sure I won't wreck it?" he asked, still afraid to touch it.

Natsu smiled, "I'm positive."

Gray nodded and hesitantly grazed his fingers over the smooth metal. When it didn't simply shatter on contact, Gray used both hands to gently pull the cuff from the box and fit it onto his left wrist.

Something on the design caught Gray's eye and used a fingernail to gently pick at what appeared to be a hinged loop located on the edge closest to his hand. The hinge enabling it to pop into the design, becoming a piece of the dragon's tail.

"What's this for?" Gray asked, pointing to the small loop.

Natsu smiled, "There's an attachment that goes with it if you accept me. I suppose the set it like an engagement and wedding ring to put it simply."

Gray nodded, marveling at how the light glanced off the gold and created a dragon shaped light on the wall.

"It's beautiful, thank you Natsu." Gray said sincerely.

Natsu smiled and took Gray's left hand in his and gently kissed the back of his hand and then the cuff.

"You're welcome."

Gray was wishing he hadn't worn a long sleeved shirt on his mission and lost it somewhere. That way he could more or less hide the extravagant gift he'd been given not ten minutes ago. Currently, he was loosely surrounded by his guild mates all wanting to see Natsu's offering. It started when Natsu had pulled him out of the room attempting to take Gray outside for a walk. His argument was that Gray had been cooped up for far too long and needed some fresh air.

The moment he stepped into the main hall, all eyes were on them and Gajeel was the first to spot the gift Gray had been trying to conceal with his right hand. Gajeel offered his congratulations – oddly enough – which was quickly followed by an insult directed at Natsu – more like him – and his interesting wording of how much he liked the cuff.

Once Gajeel was gone, the others in the hall came up – first asking Natsu – and complemented Gray's bracelet.

By the time every guild member had seen it, Gray was blushing furiously, especially once Loke had appeared from Lucy's key and voiced his rather obscene opinions. Suffice to say, Natsu was not pleased in the slightest. Gray had to nearly drag Natsu out the front door before he could hear the rest of what Loke was inevitably about to say and cause Natsu to go berserk.

Gray wasn't all too sure where they were going, so he walked Natsu a few blocks away from the guild and waited for the dragon slayer to make a move.

When he continued to fume silently, eyes changing from green to red every few seconds, Gray cautiously lay a hand on his shoulder.

The contact seemed to snap Natsu from his inner turmoil and focused his attention on Gray.

"Loke didn't mean anything by it. He's just being his stupid self so stop beating yourself up flame brain." Gray scolded lightly. He gave a small smile to ease the sting out of his words if there was one.

Natsu took a deep breath and nodded, his usual goofy smile returning quickly.

"Anyway, I wanted to take you somewhere, but we have to wait till its dark out." He smiled and grabbed Gray's hand.

"Till it's dark? But what are we gonna do until then, it's barely noon." Gray pointed out.

Natsu paused for a moment and frowned, "I dunno, are you hungry? We could eat, or go to that river we used to fight at, or the park . . ." He looked back at Gray and smiled, grabbing his other hand.

"Whatever you want to do, it doesn't matter to me." Natsu told him, while absently running a thumb over the gold cuff on Gray's wrist.

"I'm not really hungry, but how about the river, we haven't been there in a while." Gray suggested. He had only just eaten a little while ago and was still rather full.

Natsu grinned and started dragging Gray towards the well-known destination. "Perfect, let's go!"

Gray stumbled along behind the energetic mage until they reached the slope that led down to the river bank.

The sun glinted off the pale blue surface like a mirror, making the water sparkle and shine. A passing breeze ruffled the grass and the boys grinned before flopping onto the grass. They spent half an hour laying in companionable silence. It wasn't tensed or strained, but peaceful and calm, nearly sending Gray off to sleep.

"Gray?" Natsu asked suddenly, jolting Gray from his half asleep state.

Gray rubbed his eye and yawned, "Yeah? What?" he replied.

Natsu wrung his hands and bit his lip, he wasn't sure how Gray or even he would respond to the question but he needed an answer.

"What attacked you on your mission?"

Gray's eyes widened, "Oh, well it was . . . it was . . . it . . ."

Natsu looked over at his mate after Gray seemed to have trailed off. What he saw shocked him into standing up and rushing the one meter distance between them.

Gray had a hand covering his face, but Natsu could still see his eyes were wide open and he was shaking violently.

"Gray, Gray! What's wrong? Are you okay?" Natsu asked, grasping onto Gray's shoulders.

Gray heaved in a deep breath, "I . . . I don't remember."

Natsu frowned, not remembering something like that seemed like it should be a good thing to him, but by the way Gray was reacting, clearly it wasn't.

"What's the last thing you remember?" Natsu asked calmly, trying to get Gray's eye contact.

Gray was silent for a moment, "A blizzard, that's it. I can't remember anything; it's like . . . like my mind was wiped clean."

* * *

DUM DUM DDDUUUUUMMMMM! lol :D i hope it was good :) a little bit of plot coming in now and who likes Natsu's gift to Gray? AWE so cute 3


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